The shift to performance marketing has increased thei importance of affiliate operations at publishers. AI is upending the old playbook.

That’s because of AI agents. Agents will increasingly be on the loose to make buying decisions. The question is how publishers will influence those agents with their commerce content but also how they’ll get credit. The recent controversy over Phia’s cookie stuffing is testament to how affiliate is premised on getting credit for the sale.

"If you have an AI agent, the cookie is injected into your browser,” said Madeline Sullivan, founder of shopping app Scout and affiliate publishing veteran who spent eight years at Forbes Vetted. “So if an agent is using a different browser — let's say you have a Mac Mini where your agents live — that agent is going to be on a completely different browser. How are we thinking about people's digital identity to provide credit to the publishers?"

Chapters:

• 00:00 Beehiiv Spot

• 01:29 Welcome

• 02:17 Commerce Journey

• 05:08 SEO Era And Google Changes

• 09:38 Owning Audience For Commerce

• 13:51 AI Citations And Getting Paid

• 16:49 Scout App

• 21:48 Affiliate Scandals: Honey And Phia

• 28:38 AI Agents And Attribution Future

• 37:59 Distribution And Creator Partnerships

• 44:05 Trust And Content Evolution